By Bisi Bamishe
No doubt, the face of insurance is changing in Nigeria, most especially, the third party motor insurance. Inspite of the new high rate for this class of insurance, more people now pay small premium to get big compensation. Third Party Motor Insurance is one of the compulsory insurances in Nigeria. This means it is the legal minimum level of motor insurance cover any motor vehicle owner plying the Nigerian road is required to have.
This class of insurance offers great advantages to those who purchase the policy cover. It has two major fetures and extent of cover which are; l<span;>imited and unlimited covers. Limited cover means that claim for accidental damage to the property or vehicle of a third party is now up to N3million while it is unlimited cover for death / bodily Injury of the Third Party. Premium the policy holder would pay is N15,000.
Motor Insurance policy protects policy holder against physical damages that could arise from accidents involving your vehicle. It could also offer financial compensation against theft of vehicles or damages as a result of natural disasters.
The surge in patronage indicates that Nigerians are now conscious of the importance of insurance. Gone were the days when people called insurance operators robbers that collect premium from them and refused to pay when claims occurred. Also, it was believed then, that the tiny prints on the back of policy certificate, was a means of cheating policy holders.
Today, things have changed. Recently, an accountant, Mr Tunde Thomas was involved in a car accident in Lagos. As a policyholder, he insured his car about nine months earlier. But his car had damaged the car of the third party and also caused death of the passenger in the car.
When the accident occurred, he took the pictures of the two cars and reported the case to both the police and his insurance broker immediately. The broker took up the case by reporting it to his insurer. With the enforcement of prompt claims settlement ongoing in the risk bearing industry, BisladNews.com learnt that as at today, the company has agreed to put back the vehicle of the third party to the postion it was before the accident and for the person killed, unlimited amount of money would be paid by the insurance company.
Already, representatives of the company have sat down with family members of the decreased to agree the sum to be paid to the family as well as the burial arrangements. In this case, the claim is as high as N7million because it involved death. It <span;>is unlimited cover for death under third party insurance. This increase in amont of money to be claimed by policy holders is part of the benefits of the new rate for motor insurance cover.
Third Party Motor Insurance is one of the compulsory insurance policies in Nigeria. This means it is the legal minimum level of motor insurance cover any motor vehicle owner plying the Nigerian road is required to have.
Despite the increase in the rates, because it is compulsory insurance, BisladNews.com gathered that there is an upsurge in the number of motorists purchasing Third Party motor insurance. At Vehicle Licensing offices where motorists go to get or renew their motor particulars, they are mandated to buy insurance cover.
Operations of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Database (NIID) has been helpful in this area. This is the portal where any third party motor insurance certificate registered or purchased can be checked by policy holders to confirm if their certificates are genuine or not. This has helped to tackle meance of fake motor insurance certificates. As a result of the awareness created by the umbrella body, Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA) for NIID, policy holders are now coming to make claim on Third Party lnsurance.
In an interview with a chartered Insurer, Mr John Safar of UTIB lnsurance Brokers said, “The insurance business is changing for the better in Nigeria. People are more conscious of insurance because of the on-going awareness campaigns by both NAICOM and NIA. Insurance companies on their part are meeting up to their expectations. Most companies now are liquid enough to settle claims. They don’t want to get queried by the regulatory body of the industry, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM)”.
He continued, “in the new dispensation, if a policyholder has complaint against an insurance company, all he needs to do is to send either his policy cover or certificate number to NAICOM. Since both carry NAICOM identification it makes it easy for the Commission to be able to know immediately that a complaint sent is genuine and would call the concerned insurance company to redress”.
There is a complaint desk at NAICOM for policyholders and members of the public to lodge their complaints. When complaint gets to NAICOM about a company that fails to pay claim, such company would not only be mandated to pay the claim, but would also pay fine which may be even higher than the claim in dispute. Thus to avoid this, no insurance company want their case to get to the Commission. Claim settlement has increased and relief has come to the insured public.
